User Comments - amber
amber
Posted on: The Olympic Marathon
September 18, 2008 at 4:46 AMhi pretzellogic,
the body obeys the mind -
身体服从大脑 (Shēntǐ fúcóng dànǎo)
Posted on: Come on up!
September 18, 2008 at 4:44 AMhi babardwan,
I have to confess, I am the phantom intro-writer :)
Posted on: Checking Baggage
September 18, 2008 at 3:08 AMhi user14047,
Yes, auntie68 is correct, the term used for checking a coat, etc. is 寄存 (jìcún).
Posted on: Checking Baggage
September 18, 2008 at 3:05 AMhi bababardwan,
一路平安 (Yīlùpíng'ān) is 'bon voyage'.
Posted on: Come on up!
September 18, 2008 at 1:49 AMhi pretzellogic et al,
Yes, Frances is correct. Because 一 'yī' sounds very similar to 'qī', in order to avoid confusion when giving phone numbers, room, house or apartment numbers, licence plate numbers, card numbers, etc., in Chinese they use the term 幺 (yāo) for '1'.
This is not done in Taiwan, however, and that may account for why some teachers of Mandarin do not teach it.
Posted on: Yoga
September 17, 2008 at 9:41 AMhi ewong,
trial class: 体验课程 (tǐyàn kèchéng)
The measure word for a yoga class is generally either of these:
一节瑜伽课 (yī jié Yújiā kè)
一堂瑜伽课 (yī táng Yújiā kè)
Posted on: Checking Baggage
September 17, 2008 at 8:44 AMhi weibwo,
靠近 (kàojìn) is a verb, meaning 'near'. The 近 (jìn) is a complement here.
我们公司靠近苏州河。
Wǒmen gōngsī kàojìn Sūzhōu hé.
Our office is nearby Suzhou creek.
近 (jìn) is a adjective:
我家离公司很近。
Wǒjiā lí gōngsī hěn jìn.
My home is near the office.
靠 (kào) can also be used as a verb, it means to rely on, to lean on, i.e.
我喜欢靠在他的肩膀上。
Wǒ xǐhuan kào zài tā de jiānbǎng shang.
I like to lean on his shoulder.
Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 3: A Call for Innovation
September 17, 2008 at 5:36 AMdedsall78,
比赛 (bǐsài) is a match, a competition
篮球比赛 (lánqiú bǐsài) basketball game
竞争 (jìngzhēng) is used more in the sense of competition in business, i.e.
商业竞争 (shāngyè jìngzhēng)
Posted on: Considering a Credit Card
September 17, 2008 at 2:55 AMhi weijin,
开支 (kāizhī) and 费用 (fèiyong) when used as a noun are the same, meaning 'expenses, costs', and can generally be used interchangeably, as in these cases:
节省开支 (Jiéshěng kāizhī)
节省费用 (Jiéshěng fèiyòng)
Cut down on expenses
生活开支 (Shēnghuó kāizhī)
生活费用 (Shēnghuó fèiyòng)
Cost of living
However, there are some set phrases that only use 费用 (fèiyòng)
这项服务的费用 (Zhè xiàng fúwù de fèiyong)
the cost of this service
移民费用 (Yímín fèiyong)
immigration costs
开支 (kāizhī) can also be used as a verb. As in:
不该买的东西，绝不能开支。
Bù gāi mǎi de dōngxi, juébù néng kāizhī.
Don't spend the money on things you shouldn't buy.
Posted on: Do I look good in this?
September 18, 2008 at 4:48 AMhi bigcheese,
There isn't a general term for 'bottoms' in Chinese, but you could say something to the effect of:
下面穿什么？
Xiàmian chuān shénme?